Capricious
by avalonroses
Summary: Arthur was a passionate member of the Equal Rights for Omegas (ERO) movement and thus actively sought to repel any Alpha who dared to step too close to him. Of course, it had to be Alfred F. Jones who stepped. Omegaverse!USUK.
1. Part One

_Capricious_

Part One

'Underneath and unexplored  
Islands and cities I have looked  
Here I saw  
Something I couldn't over look'  
- _Islands, The xx_

Alfred had encountered Arthur a few times around campus. The Omega was friends with Francis who was friends with Gilbert who was friends with Alfred. They didn't bump into each other on a regular basis thus the only words they'd spoken to each other had been artificial pleasantries. Well, Alfred had attempted to be pleasant but it was a lost cause, Omegas like Arthur cared little as to whether Alphas were courteous or not. The embroidered, lilac patch baring the letters 'ERO' was perpetually visible on any of Arthur's clothes and gave away that Arthur loathed Alfred on principle.

It was typical of Alfred, of course, to have developed a minor crush on an ERO Omega. And maybe the crush was a little more intense than 'minor' but that was merely a matter of semantics, or so the Alpha told himself.

Alfred wasn't entirely sure what it was that sustained his attraction to the Englishman. Arthur was pedantic, snooty and when he was mad, which was often, the current of air around him almost _crackled _with the viciousness that was his bad temper.

Then there was the obvious. Arthur was a member of the Equal Rights for Omegas movement, a very zealous follower in fact. For all it was worth, they may as well have called themselves the Anti-Alpha movement.

Alfred was by no means against equality amongst Alphas, Betas and Omegas, he was all for it in fact and could acknowledge that Omegas had been denied rights that Alphas and Betas hadn't. The ideology behind the movement itself was perfectly reasonable and fair, they campaigned for changes such as equal wages and equal job opportunities (within reason, an Omega sealed inside a submarine for months wasn't exactly a good idea), and Alfred himself hoped things would change for the Omegas.

The downside to this was that a good portion of the ERO Omegas deemed it necessary to hate Alphas, pigeonholing them as prejudice and privileged.

It was also common for ERO Omegas to take scent and heat suppressants. The complete lack of Omega scent and slightly medicinal smell Arthur carried revealed that he was taking these suppressants. ERO Omegas justified these suppressants with qualms about the inconvenience of heats, the pain of unmated heats and that Alphas took advantage of Omegas and their scent only encouraged Alphas into thinking they had rights over an Omega's body.

Personally, while these validations held elements of truth to them, Alfred thought the suppressants were used out of spite. Ridding an Omega of their scent was dangerous, an Alpha can't detect if an Omega is in trouble or ill without a scent and subduing heats could jeopardise an Omega's fertility and cause sickness due to hormone imbalances.

It was a shame; really, Alfred pined to know what Arthur's scent was like. Alfred fantasied he would smell salty-sweet, like a buttery, homemade apple pie. Just thinking about it sent Alfred dizzy.

Arthur was an uncharacteristic sort of attractive. He was slender with spindly fingers and bony wrists. His dress sense was, frankly,_ ridiculous, _no one should be wearing sweater vests in 2014, especially at twenty-one years of age, but his eyes were large and vividly green and his skin was pale and gingerly decorated with freckles.

Arthur was odd but Alfred had it bad for him.

"You look nice today," Alfred murmured fancifully, his elbow propped against the table and his cheek resting in his hand. Then he halted. _Shit._

Arthur's head whipped around to face Alfred and he looked positively _noxious. _

The two of them had been left alone together in a Starbucks. Before Alfred's comment, Arthur had blatantly been waiting for a socially acceptable amount of time before he could swiftly leave. Alfred had been having lunch with Gilbert until Francis had joined them, bringing a disinclined Arthur with him. Francis and Gilbert had only been sat down for five minutes before both Betas had to take off for an impromptu lecture.

Which left Alfred and Arthur awkwardly in each other's company.

The Alpha squirmed under Arthur's unshakable glare. How could an Omega be so intimidating? Alfred wondered if the smaller man was true to an Omega's submissive nature in any aspect of everyday life. Maybe he reserved that for private affairs? There was something so decadent about the thought of Arthur letting himself go, the man was so strait-laced and unapproachable, it must have been almost impossible for it to actually occur. Alfred could imagine the Englishman being submissive for him, could imagine Arthur beneath him with his legs spread, his eyes glossy and his lips parted and... Bad train of thought, very, very bad train of thought.

"I suggest you keep those sort thoughts to yourself," Arthur said accusingly. In light of where Alfred's brain had just been moseying off to, Arthur's words ignited something in him.

And suddenly, Alfred wasn't cowed anymore, in fact, he was pissed off. All he did was say the guy looked nice but he might as well have stepped on a rattlesnake's tail instead. "Hey, I was only paying you a compliment. What, am I not allowed to do that either? Are you going to stop Alphas speaking all together soon?" He really should have stopped but he just _couldn't. _Alfred didn't know where all this was coming from. "Just because you're an Omega doesn't mean I was hitting on you. I just said you look nice. Anyone with manners would have said 'thank you'."

Arthur went a colour that, if Alfred hadn't known otherwise, it would have seemed as if Arthur was suffocating. "I assure you, I have better manners than a pompous, outspoken Alpha like you! And do not try to play innocent, Jones, there's motive behind every word that comes out of an Alpha's mouth," the Englishman's face soured further. "And never an innocent one at that."

Was the guy reading Alfred's mind or something?

"Yeah?" Alfred swung his messenger bag across his shoulder and shoved himself out of his chair. "Well, I'm gonna have to punch a hole in that dumb-ass theory of yours, because there was no _motive, _there will never be a _motive_. I have no intention of seducing you, I don't find you attractive and I wouldn't mate with you even if you were the last Omega on the planet. So there's one thing less you have to worry about."

It wasn't within Alfred's nature to be cruel or a liar but Arthur had sent him toppling over an edge with a very unforgiving drop.

The satisfaction of dressing down the Omega down never manifested, however, because Arthur didn't throw anything at him, scream at him or bark out any threats. As Alfred left, there was a terrible lack of sound from Arthur and the Alpha spied a crestfallen expression skitter across Arthur's face before it was quashed and the man became inscrutable.

Mission 'Get Arthur to Like Him' was going just _swimmingly _so far.

* * *

I've fallen quite deeply in love with Omegaverse so I thought I'd try my poor hand at it.


	2. Part Two

Part Two

'See what I've done  
That bridge is on fire  
Going back to where I've been  
I'm froze by desire  
No need to leave'  
- _Islands, The xx__  
_

"Francis!"

From where Alfred was standing in the cafeteria, he could only make out the back of Francis' head but Alfred knew it was him, there was only one man on campus who tied their hair back with a cut of silk and lounged back as if he were sat upon a paisley-print chaise lounge. "Francis!" Alfred hurdled over to the Beta's table, knocking a can of diet coke clean out someone's hand on the way.

The Beta peered over at Alfred, he eyed Alfred then his lips curved salaciously. "Alfred, have you finally come to court me?"

"Sorry, man, you're not my type."

"Of course I am, you are simply blind to my beauty," Francis mused, taking a sip of creamy coffee. "How can I be of assistance then?"

"I'm looking for Arthur," Alfred said uncomfortably. Actively seeking out Arthur wasn't something he ever pictured himself doing but he had spent the entirety of the previous night churning in his own guilt. There was no way he could go on without apologising to that contrary little Omega.

Though the way in which Francis' face almost illuminated with jubilation, Alfred didn't know if pursuing this was such a great idea.

"Are you, _mon cher?_ And to what cause, do tell." Francis appeared as if he had bitten into something particularly heavenly and was now relishing in the flavour.

"I... _needtoapologise._"

"What was that?"

Alfred exhaled markedly. "I need to apologise to him. I said something that wasn't very nice... and I didn't mean it -"

"That you wouldn't mate with him even if he was the last Omega on the planet?" Francis supplied. "That's what you didn't mean?"

It had taken until now for Alfred to notice that there were three other Betas, all of whom he didn't recognise, sat at the table with Francis. Their lunches had been left untouched and their eyes were riveted by the discussion between himself and Francis. It was the end of spring so the weather was only just beginning to heat up but the back of Alfred's neck burned so hot that he thought he'd been dislocated in time space continuum and dropped into a clammy, canopied jungle.

"I could tell something had upset him by the way he was acting yesterday. He told me what had been said but not _who _had said it. Though, of course, I could make an intelligent guess," Francis continued with a sly grin.

"I thought he'd get mad, not upset! And of course I didn't mean it; he just... drives me crazy. He shouldn't be such a dick to Alphas, it's childish." Alfred didn't think Francis' words would prompt such a spirited response but the Alpha really didn't want anyone to believe that he was being hurtful towards Arthur for the sake of being hurtful, he wasn't like that. He could acknowledge that he wasn't the most subtle of guys and his mouth did run away with him from time to time but he'd never want to upset someone deliberately. _Especially not Arthur. _

And what did the Beta mean by _make an intelligent guess..._?

"But you would like to mate with him?"

The gears in Alfred's head came to an abrupt stop and the Alpha could do little more than splutter out some words that didn't marry together all too well. "Mate with Arthur? Haha, well, maybe. You know, he wouldn't have to be the last Omega… no! I wouldn't– that's not what I meant!"

"Don't worry, Alfred, trust me, I _know _you what you meant." The manner in which Francis' elongated the word 'know' and inclined his head toward Alfred, like they were sharing a secret, made Alfred's stomach dip. Francis _knew. _Had Alfred been that transparent or was the Beta just that shrewd? The man did have a proclivity to playing matchmaker. "Apologising is a good, if dangerous, idea. Either way, it's better than not apologising. He's in his room so I'll come with you and let you in."

After listening to far too many troublingly explicit descriptions of the best-looking Alphas on the football team, including Alfred himself, Alfred and Francis reached Arthur's residency block.

Francis swiped his pass against the sensor by the sealed front door and the light turned green. Alphas were only entitled to Omega residency passes if they had an official mate or they were closely related to an Omega. Betas were permitted as long as they had written authorisation from an Omega.

Relationships between Omegas and Betas were practically unheard of, sporadically there were Alpha and Beta couples, but, for the most part, Betas tended to date other Betas. Which was the reason why Betas obtained passes easily, there wasn't the apprehension that they were on the prowl for vulnerable Omegas.

The system was pretty defective, Alfred thought, because Betas were always sneaking Alphas into Omega residency. It was a sort of brotherhood pact between Betas and Alphas. Most of Alfred's closest Alpha friends spent their evenings nestled against an Omega they weren't actually allowed to be with.

"Ah, just a warning before you apologise to the little _rosbif –"_

"Roast beef? What the hell, dude?"

Francis laughed breathily for a second. "Nothing, nothing," he sang before levelling his eyes with Alfred's with utter solemnity, something Alfred had never witnessed from Francis. "As for my warning, Arthur is a talented actor; you must remember that, he is extremely defensive of his… feelings. You'll have to look a little closer when dealing with him, do you follow?"

"I think so. Look, all I want to do is apologise then Arthur never has to speak to me again," Alfred explained, stepping inside the building. Omega living arrangements had soundproofed and scent-blocked rooms and encountering it for the first time was like Alfred had been robbed of a sense. Alphas relied heavily on their sense of smell and removing it wasn't all that different from amputating a limb.

_This is freaking weird._

"Is that what you want, for Arthur not to speak to you again?"

"That's what he wants," Alfred responded, matter-of-fact.

The Beta only hummed before slinking outside. Alfred didn't really get the whole 'mystical' thing Francis was trying to pull off, why couldn't the guy just make whatever point he was trying to make?

Shrugging to himself, Alfred bypassed the lift and started making his way up the stairs. Francis had told him Arthur was on the third floor, room 16, so the American was glad of the extra time to walk off the tenseness that had submerged him from the moment of Francis' departure. The hallways were immaculate, unlike those in the Alphas' accommodation, and the flat, unscented environment was too pharmaceutical-like for Alfred to respire properly.

The walk to Arthur's room didn't take long enough. _Room 12, room 14, room 16..._

_Just do it, just knock, it'll be fine. Arthur isn't _that _scary..._

Alfred's hand remained poised and weighty in front of the Englishman's door.

_Come on, Al, you're an Alpha. Grow a pair._

He knocked forcibly. Now Arthur would think he was trying to overcompensate. Perfect start.

From within, he heard Arthur call, "Francis?" Alfred was thrown off kilter for a moment and darted his eyes around the hallway, affirming he had the right door, the voice was so unlike the Arthur he had confronted. This person was weary, a bone-deep sort of fatigue that had infected its host long ago.

Alfred didn't say anything and Arthur came to the door. For a brief moment, the stormy ocean-green of his eyes were unguarded. A thrill spiralled across Alfred's skin, like a string of pearls had been dragged across the knurls of his spine. The moment popped as if it were a soap bubble.

"What do _you _want? How did you get in here?"

There was the Omega Alfred was familiar with, cuddly as a cactus. _Don't chicken out, just say it and leave. Conscience clear. _

"Well?"

Did Arthur really just tap his foot? Alfred's instincts reared inside of him, trampling on the objective half of his brain, causing him to heckle. He took a second to keep it together, making a mental note to pat himself on the back after the ordeal for maintaining his cool thus far, and focused on Arthur's crazy eyebrows to keep him grounded.

"I wanted to apologise about yesterday. I was out of line and I didn't mean to upset you." Alfred's inhale shuddered, his hands were clenched and his palms were slippery.

"Don't think so highly of yourself, I wasn't upset -"

"You were," Alfred blurted, his pride already thrashing against a downwards slope. "Francis said you were upset about it. And you looked upset."

Arthur's eyes narrowed. "So it was Francis who let you in." Arthur said no more for a few beats and Alfred wondered what was in store for Francis later. "I don't want your apology. I want you to leave me alone. I'm afraid you aren't capable of making me upset, your general presence doesn't really affect me all that much. Now, if you'd kindly remove yourself from my doorstep." Arthur made a move to close the door.

A growl surfaced itself, like a malevolent deep sea-dwelling creature that had lain dormant on gravelly sea bed for too long and was finally making itself known, Alfred had never made that noise before and it was entirely involuntary. Arthur eyes went large and dilated and the smaller man actually paused, watching Alfred through gauzy eyelashes.

"What is with you? Why do you only treat me like shit? I don't get it, you don't give any of the other Alphas such a hard time," Alfred question, using his height advantage to look down at Arthur.

"None of the other Alphas pester me!"

"I don't pester you! I barely speak to you… is that a nest?"

Time jolted. The aggressive current between the two of them blipped, flat-lined and then was replaced by something else entirely.

Alfred couldn't' believe what he was seeing. He hadn't really taken Arthur's room into account before. What, with the massively successful apology, checking out Arthur's accommodation hadn't made the top spot of his priority list. Then, in the corner of his vision, the Alpha spotted a shapeless mass of pillows and blankets and bed linen. The nest was in a rectangular alcove that had clearly been built for the purpose of nesting. The mismatched, autumnal coloured sheets were wrinkled and disarrayed, having been used recently.

The Omega's cheeks were traffic-light red and his entire presence had shrunk with embarrassment.

"No, it's– well, it's a –"

"Nest. It's a nest," Alfred answered. "Why do you have a nest?"

"Because I'm an Omega, you idiot, why else would I have a nest?!" Arthur's words had lost their toxicity. Blushing and fumbling were evidently ideal diluters of poison.

"You take those tablets though, the heat suppressants." Alfred's nose curled a little. "You don't need a nest if you're not having any heats."

"How would you know? What do you know about Omegas?" The Englishman attempted to close the door on Alfred but the Alpha easily thwarted it, holding his foot steady against the door.

"What kind of stupid question is that? I've dated Omegas, my brother's an Omega, and I've listened in class. You guys only build nests when you're going into heat." Alfred made a pointed effort to sniff the air and could only pick up the smell of sanitised skin and Arthur's prohibited hormones. "Do you like someone?"

The door was shoved and Alfred, his attention having been diverted from holding his weight against it, was knocked out of Arthur's room. Before slamming the door, the enraged Omega warned, "It's none of your business! Now, leave before I find someone that'll make you leave."

* * *

"I think this is a bad idea," someone said in a violent whisper.

"Trust me, it'll work," a second voice countered. "We just need to get Toris to agree."

"If this all goes to shit, I'm not being held responsible," the first speaker cautioned.

"It won't, _mon petit chou_."

* * *

Thank you _so much _to everyone that reviewed and favourited, I really wasn't expecting that kind of response but I'm really pleasantly surprised. Thank you! I've tried to clear up as many grammatical errors in this as I can but I was also getting impatient so some may still be lurking about. And because I work on this covertly while I'm in work (yeah... I hate my job) there is a slight possibility there could be some inconsistencies though I can't spot any myself, I'm proofreading paranoid most of the time.

A lot of people have asked me about The Scowling Queen. The fact that I haven't updated this in almost two years makes me want to scream, honestly, it drives me barmy. I love the idea so much and I'm very attached the story, I just lost momentum. I'm working on it, it'll get there. I'll finish this first, I'm guessing there'll be about five or six chapters.


	3. Part Three

Part Three

'I am yours now  
So now I don't ever have to leave  
I've been found out  
So now I'll never explore'  
_- Islands, The xx_

Alfred received a jarring slap to the back from one of his team mates. "Hey, hotshot, when's the big date?"

Another football player laughed boyishly and added, "Yeah, man, it's about time you started dating! We thought there was something wrong with you."

Alfred rolled his muddy shirt into his bag and sprayed his underarms with deodorant. "Shut up," Alfred said wryly. "The date's on Saturday, I thought we could go see a movie… or something. I'm not sure, s'been a while."

"The movies sounds like a good idea, it's great for doing dirty deeds in the dark, if you know what I mean...," the cornerback hinted, waggling his eyebrows. Alfred launched the unwashed towel at the Alpha and it plastered against his face with a satisfying slap of soggy fabric against skin.

"It's the first date! That's low, dude, the most I'll be trying for is holding hands."

Alfred's statement was answered with rowdy taunting, the team amplifying 'ooh' sounds and snorting with laughter. "Make sure you use protection!" someone announced and Alfred found himself rolling his eyes.

They were good guys, Alfred thought, a little rough around the edges but they meant no harm. The uneasy energy that had adhered itself to Alfred was palpable and his team mates, evidently having picked up on this, were doing their best at make light of the situation. They most likely thought Alfred was nervous about going on the first date he'd had in months.

Really, he was nervous because Arthur wasn't his date. And not so much nervous as disappointed.

It was ridiculous of him to continue to be so quixotic, to persist in mooning over Arthur, in light of Arthur's opinion of Alfred. Since the apology a few weeks ago, Alfred hadn't seen hide or hair of the Omega and Francis was of no use at all; the Beta would only make airy statements on Arthur's whereabouts. Not that it mattered; Alfred wasn't going to go looking for Arthur again. It wasn't exactly the most noble of experiences, having to walk away from an Omega and trying to snatch up whatever shadows remained of his pride, but seeking Arthur out again would only worsen their already acidic relationship.

_Why did I have to mention the nest?_

He'd spent every night, since the ordeal, editing and reediting that particular exchange. If only he'd omitted that question, if the thought had presented itself to his brain before his mouth, maybe Arthur would have accepted the apology and at least agree to be civil towards Alfred?

There had been something that had surged inside Alfred after seeing Arthur's rumpled nest and the scarlet that coloured Arthur's cheeks, something impetuous and flammable that reared up inside him like a spooked horse on its hind legs.

Jealousy.

That nest must have been assembled in a fit of attraction towards an Alpha and Arthur had curled himself within it, thinking of this person. All of Alfred's thoughts of Arthur had been spoilt by the image of the Omega arching underneath someone else, his limbs being manipulated by someone else's hands and his mind being devoured by another's fervency.

Maybe it was for the best; in any case, it had erased Alfred's hope of even having a slither of a chance with Arthur.

His date, Toris, was a gentle being, softly-spoken with downy hair and… green eyes. He didn't have a bad bone in his body and Alfred didn't want to sully his well-intentioned ways by self-imposing Arthur in his place. Arthur wouldn't influence Alfred's thoughts on the date. It would be Toris and Alfred and no other.

Alfred had been hesitant when Francis had proclaimed Alfred would be taking Toris on a date but the more he thought about it, the more logical it seemed. Even if he hadn't been allowed to actually ask to Omega on a date himself.

"Hey, guys! One of the frigid Omega protests has got out of control!" someone yelled. The team went into complete upheaval, twisting themselves into clothes and trooping out of the room in rapid succession. Alfred was the first out of the changing room, though the reasons for his rush weren't at all similar to the other Alphas, all of whom enjoyed the adrenaline spike from watching 'frigid Omegas' letting loose, no, Alfred's first thought had been '_make sure Arthur's safe'._

-/-

"I don't like this," Antonio stated, embedding his heels into the ground so he was unresponsive to Francis' small shoves. "They'll think I'm weird–"

"That's the _point. _Don't worry, everything will be explained after this all over, your reputation will only be damaged temporarily," Francis pacified. "Besides, think what you're working towards. The deal was, you do this for me and I'll get you that date with little spitfire, Romano."

Taking advantage of Antonio's momentary pause, Francis succeeded to pushing him out of the door's threshold. Outside there was a disorderly, chanting flock of ERO Omegas and one Arthur Kirkland was amongst them. Probably not chanting, mind you, Arthur had never approved of that sort of thing. He preferred to lecture and scold, both of which he did seamlessly.

Francis had waited outside the Omega accommodation that fateful day the boisterous Alfred F. Jones had tried to make amends with Arthur. As expected, the Alpha fled the building no more than five minutes later with his tail between his legs.

Arthur was a force to be reckoned with, Francis should know, he had first-hand experience. And, stupid boy that he was, Alfred wanted to reckon with that force as much as Arthur wanted to be reckoned with. Unfortunately for the two of them, Arthur was a vexatious creature enshrouded in a lattice of denial.

The only way for this to be resolved was for Francis to offer his remarkablematchmaking services. Even if the services hadn't been requested and he knew Arthur would never appreciate his practice of altruism. Ungrateful thing that he was.

"Arthur's standing by an apple tree and he's wearing a green cardigan. If Alfred doesn't show up in the next five minutes, Gilbert is going to call him."

_Still with the cardigans, despite all of Francis' valuable fashion advice._

"Ready?" Francis prompted the olive-skinned Alpha.

"No," Antonio said.

"_Magnifique!"_

-/-

Alfred spotted Arthur by one of the blossoming apple trees. His hair was littered with tiny, eggshell-white petals and his face was puckered into an expression of condemnation. Alfred wondered if that was what his face naturally reverted to. He was wearing a frumpy cardigan that was oversized and reached the backs of thighs. Alfred thought of how the Englishman would look in one of Alfred's shirts with nothing underneath, those long legs readily available for Alfred's viewing pleasure.

Alfred's belly coiled with excitement. He shook his head, unearthing the daydreams from his head. Toris, think about Toris.

Teachers were beginning to round up the vehement Omegas, and Alphas for that matter, and Alfred was about to leave when Antonio, a limber, dark-haired Alpha with a dreamy inflection, or so Alfred had been told, made an appearance and he was making a beeline towards an inattentive Arthur.

Eyes narrowed behind his glasses, Alfred weaved his way closer to the two. He obscured himself behind a tree as Antonio approached Arthur. At first, from where Alfred was standing, it was simply polite conversation but only minutes later Arthur's body language betrayed that he was uncomfortable.

The skin on the back of Alfred's neck tightened with impulse and he was in the open and trekking over to Arthur and Antonio before any other brain processes occurred.

"Hey Antonio! How's it going?" Alfred greeted chirpily, winning smile set in place.

Arthur jumped but Antonio only turned to Alfred, his eyes flickered strangely. Almost as if he had anticipated Alfred's interruption and was thankful of it.

"I didn't know you two were friends," Alfred continued.

"I was actually here to see if Arthur wanted to go on a date with me," Antonio responded.

Tension collected at the base of Alfred's spine and he knew he must have been emanating a potent territorial scent. There was no way Arthur, even with his dulled sense of smell – another side effect of the suppressants, could have missed it. Antonio had, of course, detected it but his scent remained neutral which was odd considering his reasons for visiting Arthur, he must have invested enough interest in Arthur to ask him out on a date.

"I've decided we can go out tomorrow night." Antonio's attention divided itself between Alfred and Arthur. "It'll be a lot of fun, sí?"

Alfred gauged Arthur's reaction. _Those damn suppressants, if Arthur had a scent Alfred wouldn't have to wait around trying to read the man's mind._

"Come on, I'll show you a good time." Antonio winked. _He fucking winked._

Alfred's right mind blurred with tempestuousness, his fists balled up of their own accord and every sinew in his body tightened with ferocious innateness. His scent must have been especially menacing because Antonio took a few steps back, his eyes large and rounded and his scent was apprehensive.

Arthur was _his_.

Without conscious consent, Alfred had positioned himself so he was standing in front of Arthur, taut like a soldier, posing as a protective barrier. Alfred turned to Arthur, the Omega was monitoring the exchange inscrutably, there was a crease between his brows and his mouth was parted in an effort to speak.

"Aren't you going to find out if Arthur wants to go on a date first?" Alfred beat him to it.

Arthur wasn't his mate and it was inappropriate of Alfred to be acting as he was. It wasn't like Antonio was doing anything wrong, he as Alpha asking an Omega on a date, nothing out of the ordinary. Alfred could have misread Arthur's body language and Arthur, in actuality, _wanted _to go on a date with Antonio. Either way, Antonio was now privy to Alfred's crush and Arthur could easily have figured it out. For all he could decipher, Arthur had figured it out.

_Arthur wouldn't want to go on a date with Antonio… would he though? He's an ERO Omega after all; Antonio must be crazy to ask him out. But what if Arthur says yes? What if it's not Alphas in general he wants nothing to do with... what if it's just me?_

_Please don't say yes._

"No, I don't want to go on a date with you! I don't _date,_" Arthur snapped and Alfred had never been so relieved. "If you two are quite finished with the 'my genitals are bigger than yours' tournament, I would like to get back to this shambles of a demonstration."

Arthur's hand fluttered towards where the protest had taken place. Alfred hadn't even noticed that the majority of the crowd had dispersed and those who remained were lilac-patch bearing Omegas conversing animatedly amongst themselves. It didn't matter, Arthur had said no to Antonio. The steely tension in Alfred ebbed just a tad, he still wasn't sure if Antonio would try anything.

"Are you sure–"

"Hey, Toni, you heard him, better luck next time buddy," Alfred interjected with false affability. He gave Antonio a hard look.

The shorter Alpha quirked his lips and raised his hands resignedly. "Okay, Al, I get it. See you two later." And then he was gone.

"This may come as a surprise to you, Alfred Jones, but Omegas are in fact capable of speech. That was yet another example of self-important Alphas thinking they can stick their noses where they don't belong."

Alfred had to commend Arthur's capacity to look down on him while being a head shorter than Alfred.

"I wasn't trying to be self-important, I couldn't help it. I'm not going to apologise to you, there's no point." The American very nearly walked away but, as always around Arthur, the urge to prove himself ballooned inside him. "I'm on board with this equal rights movement, you know, but you can't keep slating Alphas for everything they do! I'm not trying to suppress your rights or whatever–"

"By imposing yourself in a conversation that had nothing to do with you, simply because I'm an Omega and you believe I can't speak for myself, you have demonstrated that you believe me to be inferior."

Arthur's eyes were so powerful, holding Alfred to him with their frostiness. He made Alfred feel so violate, so teeming with emotion and for Arthur to merely be _cool _around Alfred was infuriating. Arthur's presence was so huge but he stood there with clusters of blossom in his hair, his dowdy cardigan hanging askew over his shoulders and his stupid eyebrows furrowed and all Alfred could think of was throwing him against the tree trunk and make stars erupt behind those eyes until all the ice had melted.

"Inferior?! The last thing I think of you as, Arthur, is inferior." Alfred laughed with disbelief. "And _I know _you can speak for yourself. I'm sure the entire campus knows _you _can speak for yourself. That's not what this is about, it's an instinct. What if you were you in trouble? What if you were hurt? Omegas have the same instinct, you just express it differently. You can't control it, especially if you care about somebody–"

"Care about somebody?" Arthur's entire body went inexplicably lax.

The Alpha's throat went dry. "Yeah, you know, er, hypothetically...," Alfred muttered. Arthur didn't say anything and Alfred didn't look at him. "Anyway, I've gotta go. Um, yeah."

The way Arthur had asked that question, with such a small voice, Alfred didn't know what to think. So much for keeping his distance.

It didn't matter, none of it mattered. Alfred had a date tonight, which was what was important; he was over Arthur, over being lectured by him and being scorned by him, even after Alfred had just rescued him from a prowling Alpha. He would put Arthur into the back pocket of his mind and, over time, any attraction to Arthur would cease to exist.

* * *

In which poor Alfred can't catch a break. I love jealous Alfred though, who's with me?

I hope this doesn't sound too repetitive, it's a worry I always have.


	4. Part Four

Part Four

'Where would I be  
If this were to go under  
That's a risk I'd take  
I'm froze by desire  
As if a choice I'd make'  
- _Islands, The xx_

Dating wasn't what he remembered it to be. Perhaps it was because of the constant turbulence inside his head recently or the wayward nature of his hormones or being rejected by the same Omega a hundred and one times.

It was most likely a combination of those things ruining his attempt at a love life.

It had been a few days since Alfred's first date with Toris and it had gone okay. They watched the new X-Men movie, not that Alfred had insisted of course, and went for a bite to eat afterwards, well, Toris had a bite; Alfred had two meals to himself. He was a growing Alpha after all!

Nothing had a gone wrong per say and they both appeared to have had an acceptable time but the whole ordeal had been a bit... platonic. There wasn't that fizz of attraction or that thrill of seeing each other that was supposed to make Alfred's stomach swirl and his smile beam. Worst still, Toris indisputably felt the same way, Alfred couldn't smell any sort of attraction on the Omega. Which begged the question, why bother in the first place? What was in it for Toris?

And why were they holding hands across the table, in the cafeteria, as if they inseparable paramours at the cusp of fruitful relationship?

There was something weird going on but Alfred couldn't figure out what or why.

Halfway through the inhalation of his second sandwich, there was a clamorous string of noise from the far end of the cafeteria where the tables were doused in streaky sunlight from the blinds. The noise, it turned out, had been the result of a food tray, with an assortment of glass and silverware, being flung to the ground. Amongst the disarray of glass shards and askew cutlery stood Arthur Kirkland and his features wore a fury that Alfred had never seen on Arthur before.

At the brunt of Arthur's yelling was Francis, who, oddly, was quite collected, raising his hands and speaking to Arthur slowly.

Most of the occupants in the cafeteria had become silent and all eyes were fastened to the exchange between Francis and Arthur. Alfred couldn't make out anything they were saying, although following Francis' lips, Alfred had only made out the words 'hormones' and 'calm down'.

White-yellow sunlight passed over Arthur's face and illuminated the tear-trails on Arthur's cheeks.

_He's crying. That wasn't right. Arthur would _never _cry in public unless something was really, really wrong. _

Arthur's eyes turned to Alfred, clearly he had already known where Alfred was sat, and his stare immobilised the Alpha. The skin on Arthur's cheeks was blotchy and his thick eyebrows were contorted. His eyes bore into Alfred's with such brutal, incandescent rage.

The gaze burrowed into the Alpha as if it were a loose segment of barbed wire under his skin. The Englishman's eyes flicked down to where Toris' and Alfred's fingers interlocked then back to Alfred. As if scalded, Alfred's hand jumped out of the Toris' hold.

Arthur's temper was then swept away like a feather at the mercy of a hurricane and a sob overflowed from his lips before he buckled into his chair. Francis was on his feet, almost imperceptibly quick, and hooking his arms underneath Arthur's, spurring him up from his seat. Arthur was resistant, his body unhelpfully limp.

"This isn't good," Toris said under his breath. Like Alfred, he was watching Arthur.

"Why? What just happened?"

There was a long pause. "I think you should go and see Francis."

Jumping to his feet, Alfred couldn't believe that he was approaching Arthur once again. He must have a death wish.

He didn't even question Toris' instruction; he only knew he felt compelled to reach Arthur. As if in a daydream, his limbs controlled by a foreign body, the closer he got to Arthur, the less clear-headed he became.

Arthur was being ushered away by a harried Gilbert before Alfred could reach him.

Francis was waiting for him.

"Is he okay?" Alfred asked pressingly.

"Let's talk outside, we have an audience." Francis nodded his head behind Alfred where the mass of university students were still riveted by the disturbance.

Alfred followed the Beta outside and they stopped beside the rows of students' bikes.

"I'm more of an idiot than both you and Arthur and that is deeply upsetting, you realise," Francis said dramatically.

"What...? Stop messing with me. What's wrong with him? Is he sick?"

"He's gone into heat." Francis let the words drop into the air between them, heavy as marble.

The Beta spoke up before Alfred could. "I know how much you care about him and I know how much he cares about you but the two of you are too stupid to figure it out. Admittedly, I can understand why you have found it more difficult to see Arthur's attraction to you – heaven knows why you are so infatuated by that man. Anyway,I had to take action myself, watching you two was too painful."

Alfred blinked, mystified. The onslaughtof information clattered inside his head and he had no idea how to process it. Which point did he tackle first? Arthur had gone into heat? Surly, strait-laced Arthur was now writhing in heat?

_Arthur cared about him?_

"That's why you set me up with Toris," Alfred murmured.

"_Oui. _And I convinced Antonio to ask Arthur out on a date to make you jealous."

Alfred almost growled at Francis' admission. He'd been completely played and made to look like an idiot.

"Wait, Arthur can't be in heat. He takes heat suppressants."

Pushing a curl of his hair behind his ear, Francis sighed. "The jealousy tactic worked a little too well, I'm afraid. When Arthur first found out that you and Toris were dating he went very silent and I thought for sure he would break and say something to you. After seeing you two together again today, however, he's actually become so upset that his hormones have overridden the effects of the medication."

The Beta allowed Alfred a moment. He must have been a picture of incredulity.

"There have been cases similar to this before. The trouble is, heats that have overwhelmed suppressants are very intense and can be distressing for unmated Omegas. They... well, you saw him just now, this heat will be unforgiving without an Alpha," Francis pointed out, his concern for Arthur evident.

Alfred was aware that Francis was fond of Arthur but this was the first time the man had revealed to what extent.

"We'll need to get the doctor then? To reverse the affects? Or will they put him on a higher dosage?"

Sweat slithered past Alfred's temple and he couldn't keep himself still, his unease vaulting around in circles inside his stomach.

Alfred had never had a mate before (he was a firm believer of having one mate, and only _one_ mate, for life,he wanted his first mate to be his last) and because of that he couldn't understand the infallible bond between mates, nevertheless, Alfred felt as unstable and fearful as he imagined an Alpha with a wounded mate would be.

"You are joking, aren't you?" Francis regarded him the way a child would regard an exotic zoo animal. "Alfred, there is no reversal. He's in heat and you need to mate with him. Now is not the time for a lesson about the birds and the bees."

Funny how, despite how panicky Alfred was, there was still room in his mind for a thousand starkly erotic images of Arthur to ambush him.

Alfred's mouth worked uselessly.

A smattering of students passed them, their conversation draining away with the intensity of the conversation between Alfred and Francis.

Alfred waited until they'd disappeared inside a building before saying, "I can't sleep with him, he hates me! I don't want him to be in pain or anything like that but I know he'd never forgive me once the heat passed. If he does... care about me, it's against his will. He's an ERO Omega for god's sake!"

Francis drew himself in closer to Alfred and cupped his hands over Alfred's cheeks, tunnelling the Alpha's vision to Francis and Francis only. The fragrance of neutrality that Betas carried only served to frustrate Alfred.

"You remember when I told you Arthur is a talented actor?" Alfred nodded. "I meant it. Arthur's entire attitude is in effort to avoid getting hurt. Hurt by an Alpha, hurt by _you_. Arthur's intelligent but he's also misguided and ignorant sometimes. Prove him wrong; prove to him that you won't hurt him. Take this; Gilbert has taken him back to his room."

Before Alfred had agreed, Francis was offering him the key card to the Omega building. With the plastic in his hand, the weight of what was about to happen plummeted with nauseating speed. Alfred felt lucid with both nervousness and sparking excitement.

A hand squeezed his shoulder and Francis glided in front of where Alfred had unconsciously started walking towards Arthur. There was an impish half-grin across Francis' lips.

"I know this will be difficult but try to go easy on him. As you may have guessed, he's never been with an Alpha and I imagine you'll see to it his first time is... _ardent_." The grin sloped a little to the left with a certain sultriness. "Be gentle."

"I can't even _think _gentle at the moment."

Francis laughed.

-/-

Now that Alfred was here, knocking on Arthur's door, all he could think about was running to the opposite end of the country.

Arthur would be fine, right? He's a strong Omega; it's nothing he can't handle. And Alfred doesn't want to send the other man up in arms over 'having to depend on an Alpha' which will inevitably happen.

"Who is it?" Arthur's question was punctuated by laboured exhales.

"It's... Alfred." The Alpha's ears burned with the pregnant silence that followed. "Francis told me about everything that happened so; uh... you know how I feel about you now, right?"

Alfred swallowed, willing himself to keep his nerve. "Look, despite some of the weird things Francis has just said to me, I didn't come here expecting anything and if you want me to go, that's fine. I just need to know you're gonna be okay."

It was soundless between them for so long that Alfred thought that maybe Arthur hadn't heard him but then there was a scuffling sound inside.

"I didn't believe Francis, about you...," Arthur panted.

He was closer to Alfred now; he was probably up against the door. Alfred almost put his hand up against the surface. It was clear Arthur was hanging on to his sensibility by a thread; Alfred could almost feel his struggle for breath. He wondered if the Omega had stripped himself of his clothes. Alfred had never been with an Omega in heat but he was accustomed to his brother's habits.

"I still don't know if I believe the bloody frog, I haven't exactly been all sunshine and rainbows around you. It doesn't make any sense. _You _don't make any sense."

Alfred very nearly snorted with amusement. _You can say that again. _

"No, definitely not been any rainbows. More like one of those crazy-ass storms that tears off the roof of your house, spins it around then throws it back at your house again."

Arthur _laughed, _a reedy, exhausted laugh but he laughed all the same. He'd never heard Arthur laugh before. Alfred smiled, eclipsed with affection for the Englishman behind the door.

"I know I can't prove to you that I'm not just going to use you and that I have every intention of being your mate, if you'll have me, but it'll still stand that I am kinda crazy about you. A lot crazy about you, actually. What can I say, I like storms." Another laugh. "I'm trusting you to let me down gently if you don't want me but if you do want me you're gonna have to trust me to be there in the morning."

More silence.

"Alfred."

"Yeah?"

"There will be a lot of storms," Arthur said almost inaudibly.

"I'm from Florida."

The door swung open. "You'd better be here in the morning, Jones, or I swear to God –"

Alfred cut him off, sliding his hands underneath Arthur's chin, cradling the curvature of his jaw, and tilted his head back. Arthur's brows were furrowed, his cheeks were flushed like overripe cherries and his lips were parted with the words he hadn't finished. He was breath-taking and his eyes held far too much power over Alfred.

"I've wanted to do this for a really long time," Alfred admitted.

Alfred breathed in any reply Arthur could come up with, snatching away Arthur's air with his lips.

Arthur moaned, long and low, and Alfred drank it in, pulling on Arthur's plumper bottom lip.

Breathing in through his nose, Alfred captured his first sample of Arthur's scent and it crashed into him with annihilatingforce, disorientating him with the sheer deliciousness of it.

_Holy shit. So this is what an Omega in heat smells like. This is what _Arthur _in heat smells like. There's no way this is going to last long._

The scent nestled itself inside his head, obscuring everything else, like tendrils of ink reaching out through water and Alfred felt utterly helpless to it, to Arthur. His skin tightened with urgency and he'd never got hard so quickly in his life before. Every particle of his body prickled with the need to claim the Omega.

He hooked one arm around Arthur's slim waist and moved his free hand down to Arthur's backside. Arthur keened and pulled away from the kiss, gulping down air as if surfacing from water.

Alfred flattened Arthur's body against his then burrowed his face into hollowed space between Arthur's collar bone and neck.

Accented under the heady, spicy scent of heat, Arthur smelt like a drizzle of honey in chamomile tea and lily pollen dusted over fingertips. It was sublime. Alfred almost completely lost control of himself, pushing Arthur up against the wall behind them and kissing him savagely.

_Don't spook him, remember._

He tried to placate himself, his kisses becoming slower, milder, and Alfred just barely managed but with the Omega arching up against him, moaning into his mouth, his groin against Alfred's thigh, Alfred didn't know how long he could maintain the mood.

Judging by the wildness of Arthur's eyes, however, Alfred wasn't sure if Arthur would even appreciate gentle.

"You smell heavenly," Arthur breathed, nuzzling into Alfred's neck similarly to what Alfred had done moments ago. "_Oh god_, I can't wait. I can't. We have to... please..."

"Bedroom."

The two didn't exactly separate from each other as they bumped their way into Arthur's bedroom, Alfred fumbling to close and lock the door behind them before pushing Arthur down into his crumpled nest.

Arthur appeared to be burning up and was battling against his own breathing. Alfred knelt beside the Omega and Arthur instantaneously rose to meet him.

Shedding Arthur's clothing with no sense of grace, off with the cute, frumpy cardigan, and the heat scent became drug-like and more potent with each item that was removed. It was only until Arthur was gloriously bare, skin milky pale and long legs shuddering, that Alfred could tug away the fabric over his own skin, in that much of a hurry that he flicked his glasses of his face with his shirt and they rattled away to some distance place in Arthur's room. Alfred didn't give a damn if they were broken.

Even in his current state, Arthur's fingers clenched with self-consciousness and he barely glimpsed at Alfred's naked form. The Alpha wanted to announce Arthur's beauty to him, tell him just how devastating he truly was, but he was too far gone to salvage any words. Instead, he dotted kisses along Arthur's body, like following constellations of stars in tranquil, untouched galaxies, hoping Arthur would understand what Alfred was trying to convey through this language. A kiss for his lips, a kiss for his collarbone, a kiss near his nipple, a kiss on his stomach, a kiss on his hipbone, a kiss on his inner thigh…

It didn't take much before Arthur was squirming, his chest rapidly expanding and collapsing, and Alfred's willpower was about to burst apart. Alfred moved his head from between Arthur's legs, the scent was so intoxicating there, and Arthur's eyes blinked open at Alfred's withdrawal, whining like an injured animal.

"Are you ready?" Alfred breathed. "'Cos I'm pretty close to losing it."

"Yes, yes, I'm ready! Alfred, it hurts, it –"

"Shush, sweetheart, I'm here." Taking one of Arthur's hands, Alfred guided the hand between his legs and urged Arthur to hold him there. The small hand wrapped around him and Alfred's entire body seized. "I'll let you guide me, as slowly as you want Arthur, I don't want to hurt you."

The Omega's eyes were wide, trained on Alfred with a shimmery quality, and he tugged his hand experimentally on Alfred. The Alpha emitted a faint rumbling sound as pleasure quaked along his spine. "Seriously, Arthur, I'm barely hanging on here."

The smaller man actually chuckled delinquently before spreading his legs wider to accommodate his Alpha. Alfred lowered himself at Arthur's cue, he was directed further and further against Arthur's body until he felt that perfect, wet warmth.

And then he was _there _and Arthur _mewled _with such desperation that it _very _nearly was all over, just like that.

"Oh my god, oh my god," Alfred said through gritted teeth. He rested his forehead against Arthur's and took a few seconds to let them both gather themselves.

Arthur was impatient though, his eyes imploring Alfred to continue, and it wasn't long before they were rocking against each other frenziedly. Alfred grabbed Arthur's knees and pushed them apart. They met each other over and over with gorgeous, visceral ease, it was as if they had done this a thousand times before.

The Omega was overcome quickly, breaking apart with such a loud, resplendent cry that Alfred came undone so powerfully he tore the skin on Arthur's neck with his teeth.

"Shit!" Alfred rasped. "I'm sorry, I – "

"It's fine." It sounded like Arthur was scraping his words from the very last remnants of his consciousness. "Just don't do it again, you stupid sod."

Their stomachs touched where they simultaneously exhaled, trying to catch up with their hammering hearts.

"I can't promise that." Alfred smirked into Arthur's angular collar bone. He was pretty sure there were fingertips playing with his hair but he couldn't be positive and he didn't want to open his eyes to check yet. Not when he had the image of Arthur's orgasm imprinted on his mind's eye. The way his fingers had grasped at Alfred's back, the tremble of his thighs and the shape of his mouth as he came.

An intrinsic calm submerged Alfred as his knot swelled inside Arthur; he was in the world that was tucked away between sleep and awareness.

"That was so awesome. I wanna do it again." Arthur chuckled and Alfred joined him even as he yawned. "Might have to wait until my knot's gone down though."

The two of them were still for a short time, entwined around each other like honeysuckle vines, until Arthur began to stiffen underneath Alfred. The Alpha picked up on it instantly, alarm bells ringing.

"What's up?"

"Stop, please." Arthur was trying to shuffle away from him.

"Woah! Don't move, I'll hurt you!"

"You're hurting me now, stop it!"

Alfred pinned Arthur down with his weight and snatched up his hands. "Arthur, hey, relax. Knots always hurt a little the first time, you need to relax. If you move around and… well, you could cause a lot of damage. Didn't you learn this in class?"

Arthur couldn't meet Alfred's eyes after that last question. "Didn't you?" Alfred probed.

"I may have skipped those classes," the Englishman confessed. "This," he gestured at Alfred's and his current situation. "Wasn't something I ever wanted to happen. The classes didn't seem relevant at the time." He shifted in another attempt to get away from Alfred. "You have to stop, it's too painful!"

"You _skipped _the classes? Seriously? Does that mean you were planning to be on those suppressants for the rest of your life?"

The scent of an Omega, _his _Omega, in distress had a brusque, citric sort of taste that was all wrong and it halted Alfred in his tracks. Now, of all times, wasn't when Arthur needed to be lectured though this wasn't something Alfred would forget easily.

"Sorry. That doesn't matter right now. Just trust me. I promise it won't hurt in a minute, okay?" Tentatively, Alfred released Arthur's wrists and kissed him tenderly, rubbing his hands down the smaller man's sides keep him distracted and feeling safe. "Try and get as comfortable as you can."

After being troublingly still for a few beats, Arthur shakily wrapped his legs around Alfred's hips, sinking further into the chaos of blankets and pillows. Alfred found himself unable to cease kissing Arthur once he had started and they continued like that until Arthur sighed into his mouth and his head dropped back.

"How'd ya feel now?" Alfred didn't need to ask, Arthur's scent divulged his contentment, spoke of how secure he felt in Alfred's arms and the Alpha smiled, wondering if he smelt the same to Arthur.

"I feel… good."

"Me too." Arthur was twining his fingers through Alfred's hair again and Alfred was almost purring with bliss.

This day could not get better.

"Artie?"

"Yes?"

"Do you regret this?"

"Not even a little bit," Arthur responded without a hint of indecision.

Well, what do you know, the day could get better.

* * *

I realise I previously said the dorm rooms were soundproofed then proceeded to describe Alfred and Arthur speaking through Arthur's door... I'm really sorry, Arthur would hunt me down for that inconsistency.

It's 2:20 in the morning where I am and my eyes will burn away if I proofread this again and I'm aware it's been over a month since my last update so I'm winging it here!

In regards to Alfred's comment 'I'm from Florida', I did research into this and found that Florida is supposedly the stormiest state in the US, having recently lost the title of 'Lightning Capital of the World' to a city in Africa. Florida has more recorded storm-related deaths than all other states combined! As lovely as Florida looks, I'm glad I'm not living there :3_  
_

One chapter left!


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